State Minister of Consumer Affairs Lasantha Alagiyawanna has agreed to temporarily increase the price of milk powder by Rs. 200 until the price of imported milk powder is increased to Rs350 a spokesman told to Lankasara.
He further added that due to the increase in the price of milk powder in the world market and the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, a further hike is expected and until then the relevant measures will be taken to increase the price by 200 rupees.
The agreement was reached during a discussion between the milk powder importers and the State Minister of Consumer Affairs today. Accordingly, the price of a 400-gram packet of milk powder, which is largely sold in the local market, will increase by between Rs. 78 and 80, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, a senior official of the State Ministry of Consumer Affairs stated that attention is being paid to increase the maximum retail price of rice for sale per kilogram of paddy as the price currently fixed by a gazette notification is not reasonable and is not practical. According to these sources, there are some suggestions to increase the price of a kilo of Samba rice to 120 rupees and a kilo of Nadu to 103 rupees respectively.
